


That time everyone found out

by TrashTrish



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged up Zukaang - Freeform, Bisexual Aang (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Established Relationship, Humor, M/M, POV Zuko (Avatar), Toph always knows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22321093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashTrish/pseuds/TrashTrish
Summary: Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang are madly in love, but nobody knows. Deciding it was best to keep their relationship under wraps at first was a good move, but neither wants to keep it from everyone forever. It's not so easy to tell people, though. Worries of how their friends and family will react and fearing hurting them for keeping it secret, they are conflicted on how to tell people. But help might be just around the corner.
Relationships: Aang/Zuko (Avatar), zukaang
Comments: 12
Kudos: 433
Collections: Forever Zukaang





	That time everyone found out

The day before everyone found out Zuko and Aang were dating was a pretty crappy day. It started out good. Like almost every morning of two weeks prior, the two weeks since Zuko and Aang had confessed their feelings for each other, Zuko had woken up with Aang beside him. And for a while he would lay beside his boyfriend and enjoy having him this close. It was the one of the best parts of his day. He spent a while watching Aang sleep and when Aang woke up, they talked about their upcoming day and when they'd meet that night. But like all crappy days, nothing went to plan after they left his room. It started with Aang being called away from Zuko, and Zuko having to go see his father after an attempt to bribe a guard to help him escape. That took up most of his day and what followed was meeting after meeting, and then the call from Aang that he wouldn't be able to come that night.

So that day had sucked, a lot, and Zuko was not expecting the next day to be much better when he went to sleep that night.

He woke when he felt lips pressed against his nose. At first he thought it was a dream, and subconsciously he swatted the feeling away. Then it happened again. He opened his eyes and found himself staring into Aang's loving gaze. It caught him off guard and he jumped. Aang smiled at him apologetically. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

He didn't want Aang to be sorry. He was glad to have him here.

"Come here," he said as he pulled Aang to him for a kiss.

Their kiss was intense and a little disjointed as Zuko still wasn't functioning properly. But it was no less special than any of the others they had shared in the last two weeks. Zuko loved kissing Aang. He loved the feeling of the man's lips on his, the feeling of them fitting so perfectly together that everything was perfectly at peace. He kept hold of the back of Aang's head after their lips separated, and he rested their foreheads together and took a few moments to breathe.

Aang laughed. "So you're happy to see me then."

"More than happy. I wasn't expecting to see you today."

Aang pulled back for a moment to kiss Zuko on the nose. Again. "I know, I'm sorry. I had some Avatar business to attend to. And then I wasn't sure I would make it back, so I told you I wouldn't. And I didn't. I was able to make it before you woke up though." The smile on Aang's face warmed his heart. Knowing it was a smile reserved for him made it even better.

"I'm glad you could make it, even if you did scare me."

"Oh, my love, I really am sorry about that."

He shook his head and kissed Aang's nose. "You don't have to be sorry. Never be sorry for coming back to me."

Aang pulled him close. It was funny, before they met, he hated Aang, and he continued hating him for a long time after. Then they became friends and it took a while, but everything shifted on it's axis and now Zuko longed to be with Aang every second of every day. He knew there would be times they would have to spend some time apart. But after only two weeks he was already used to the routine. In a way, he guessed it was because despite the change in their relationship two weeks ago, they had been spending a lot of time together for two years now. And it had become something of a routine for the two of them. A routine that felt like it had always been that way.

"I'll always come back to you," Aang said.

And then they were kissing again. Only this time the kissing went a little differently, as Zuko pulled Aang on top of him and laid back against the bed. He loved having Aang's body pressing his into the mattress. He loved feeling HIS AANG on top of him. He loved every second with him.

"I love you, Zuko," Aang murmured against his lips before deepening the kiss.

Zuko said it back in between kisses, he said it a hundred and one times, every time they pulled back for a breath he said it. And Aang said it back to him every single time as well. The room was full of their declarations of love. Anyone walking past his room would have heard them. Not because they were talking that loud. They were barely whispering the words. But their laughter was so loud it boomed. It poured out of the two of them and down the halls, throughout the palace. It poured from his heart. Never had he been this happy in his entire laugh. He was high on love, on loving Aang, on having Aang love him right back. It was intoxicating. 

His body reacted to Aang like it never had for another person. One part of him was hard, while the rest of him was a soft puddle of goo. His shaft was always hard when Aang was in the room now. It didn't matter if they were on other sides of the room, it was like it had an Aang detector. But they hadn't gone as far as sex yet. They wanted to give their growing relationship some time without sex first. He would have been lying if he said it wasn't difficult. He dreamed of exploring Aang's body, of being inside of him, of lying skin to skin beside his beautiful Aang. But he was more than happy to wait until it came naturally. Part of him hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

"I never want to leave this room," Zuko said when they finally pulled apart, both gasping for breath and their mouths swollen and red from kissing. He loved the expression on Aang's face after they had been kissing. His naturally shining personality really shone through.

"We'll have to leave eventually." Aang was panting. "Everyone's meeting at your uncle's tea shop today, remember?"

Zuko hadn't remembered. He had been preoccupied with Aang and he had completely forgotten about the rest of his friends, his family. It was so strange to think of himself as having a real family now. But he had. They had his back and he had theirs. And most importantly, they loved and cared for Aang and would do anything for him, which was the most important thing to Zuko now. Even his mother, who had he reuinited with not too long ago, loved Aang and always seemed to wind up talking to him when she saw him.

 _Today is already so much better than yesterday_ Zuko thought to himself as he walked with Aang to Uncle Iroh's tea shop. They had spent most of the morning in bed, talking and kissing. While he got ready, Aang went for a walk around the palace. He enjoyed exploring Zuko's childhood home. He also enjoyed learning more about the history of the Fire Nation.

They were the first one's to arrive. "Nephew," his uncle greeted as they hugged.

"It's good to see you, uncle. You look happy." And he did. The tea shop made him happy. It gave him a focus in life, and he was doing what he loved more than anything.

"I'm always happy to see my favourite nephew," Iroh replied.

"Do you have any of that new tea?" Aang asked from behind him. Iroh smiled and gave Aang a quick hug next.

"Of course, Avatar, I always have some here for you."

Zuko didn't give his uncle a chance to go for it. "I'll get it. Which tea do you want, Uncle?" 

Of course his uncle replied with Jasmine. He always wanted Jasmine tea.

He listened to his uncle and Aang talk. He always wondered what Iroh would think if he knew the truth about him and Aang. It scared him a little that he might stop loving him. It was dumb, but he wondered if maybe it wasn't so dumb. You never know what one seemingly small thing would cause the end of a relationship.

"You never did tell me why you enjoy my new tea so much." Iroh brought up with a chuckle.

Zuko waited for Aang's reply. He was curious too. Somehow, he always forgot to ask when it was just the two of them. "It reminds me of the tea I used to drink when I was a kid," Aang replied. "It's a little like the tea Monk Gyatso made for me after The Monks told me I was the Avatar. It reminds me of him, and of home."

The answer made Zuko sad. He wished he could bring Aang's home back. The place was still standing, sort of. But with no Air Benders there, it was a very different place now. And sometimes Aang didn't like going back. There were too many happy memories that were overshadowed by the events that happened while Aang was frozen.

He brought his two favourite men their tea. "Are you not getting any?" Iroh asked him.

"Maybe in a while."

His uncle looked at him strangely and for a second, Zuko wondered what he was thinking about. He dismissed it as it being all in his head.

"Finally, we're here!" Toph's voice carried through the tea shop. "Solid ground at last."

"It's not like we forced you to come with us," Katara told her.

Following behind the two of them was Sokka and Suki gazing lovingly at each other, unaware of the exchange between the others.

"And I told you I'm not complaining, I'm just stating how I feel."

Katara started to say something back, but Toph walked away from her and headed straight for them. The smile on her face wasn't there when they first spotted her. That smile was full of mischief and Zuko wondered what she was up to.

"Toph!" Aang picked her up off the ground and swung her around.

"Put me down, Twinkle Toes!!"

Aang laughed. "Sorry, I got carried away."

She punched him in the arm. From where Zuko was standing, it didn't look very hard. But the way Aang's face contorted in pain told of a different story.

He held his arms out to hug Katara, and Sokka and Suki. His uncle did the same. All while Toph and Aang bickered like siblings. Except it was more like Toph was bickering with Aang, while he just smiled and enjoyed seeing her again. The two of them had a relationship that many found strange. She was tough as nails and no-nonsense and Aang was this cheery ray of light. Most people assumed Toph couldn't stand him for very long. But the truth was they were closer now than ever before. If he didn't know how Aang felt about him, he might have been jealous.

"So what's new in the life of the Fire Lord?" Sokka asked as he slung his arm over Zuko's shoulder.

The question caught him off guard and for a second he didn't know how to answer, which Toph seemed to pick up on if the sly smile was anything to go by. Shit. Aang had said she suspected there was something more than friendship between them.

"Not much," he answered quickly. "How are things in the Southern Water Tribe? How is the construction going?"

"Oh, you know, it's cold and cold. And the construction is taking a while because some people," he aimed a pointed look at his sister, "aren't happy about the change."

"Well, excuse me for wanting our home to stay our home." Katara almost yelled.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to see our home grow and thrive."

"Right," he mumbled. "Shouldn't have asked.

"Sokka, calm down. Try to see where your sister is coming from," Suki interjected.

"I am calm! Katara's the one yelling at me!"

Suki didn't try anything after that. She smiled at Zuko and rolled her eyes. He was pretty sure she mumbled something about siblings being so much fun to be around, or maybe it was something about Sokka being fun to be around when he was fighting with his sister. Either way, she was as sorry as he was that she had opened her mouth.

"Come on, guys!" Aang stepped in between their friends. "It's been three months since we were all together. Let's not fight now." And then he turned to hug Katara, who hugged him in return. She looked more content now. Next it was Sokka's turn. He wasn't shy about bringing up how tall Aang had become.

"I remember when you barely touched my shoulder, and now you're taller than me!"

"He's still Twinkle Toes to me," Toph added.

Of that, Zuko thought, he had no doubt.

She was never afraid to use the nickname when addressing Aang. Even when she introduced them all to her "students" at her Metal Bending School, she introduced Aang as Twinkle Toes, despite protests from Aang. He thought she enjoyed seeing him get all worked up. He _knew_ she believed it made him a better Earth Bender. She had said so many times during their training. The truth was, it took Aang a while to master Earth Bending, but now he cold hold his own against any bender with Earth Bending alone, and it was a sight to behold when Aang used his bending.

"The tea shop is doing great," Katara said to his uncle.

"Yes, we're still the most popular tea shop in the Earth Kingdom. People come from all over to drink here. I never thought I would see the day." His uncle was so proud of that. He was proud of him too. Who would have believed a former Fire Nation General would be running a successful Earth Kingdom tea shop? But everyone loved his uncle and even if people didn't, they had to admit, the man knew his tea. 

Toph joined in the talk about his uncle's shop. She wanted to know if he had any of the tea's she liked. He was surprised to learn Toph enjoyed his uncle's tea almost as much as his uncle did. She didn't strike him as a person who would be very interested in tea.

A little while later they were all sitting around one of the tables, his uncle serving them cup of tea after cup of tea, talking about their lives. His mother had finally joined them. She sat silently most of the time. Sometimes she would look at him and smile. The smile that told him she loved him, was sorry she wasn't there for him, that she wanted them to be closer. His mothers smile always said a lot of things without her having to say a word.

"You look happy, sweetheart," she whispered to him.

"I am happy," he told her.

She shook her head. "I mean you look happier than I've ever seen you. I don't quite know how to put my finger on it." 

He didn't know what to say to that. He wanted to say of course he was happy, but then she would want to know what was making him happy, happier than he had ever been, and he wasn't ready to tell her that. He didn't know how he was going to have that conversation.

"That's because of him," Toph cut in.

The chatter around the table stopped and they all looked at her. His mother spoke up. "What do you mean by that?"

"Zuko's happier than you've ever seen him because of Aang." She sounded so damn smug. He didn't know whether he wanted to kick her or hug her for doing what he knew he would have to do eventually. He was leaning toward kicking her though because it would have been nice to have some time, before telling his friends and family.

"Toph!" Aang sounded alarmed. Zuko turned his head and saw the panic on Aang's face.

"What? I can't believe I'm the only one who figured it out."

"Zuko and Aang?!" Katara and Sokka exclaimed in unison. 

"Seriously?" Toph asked them. "You seriously didn't know?"

Zuko took Aang's hand and gave it a squeeze. He didn't like the look of guilt on his face, or the way he seemed uneasy. He knew this was very different for Aang. He knew sexuality wasn't an issue for the Air Nomads and he had grown up without any of the confusion or fear he had. Aang glanced at him and smiled. Zuko still wasn't satisfied Aang felt okay about this, so he learned over and kissed his nose. It did the trick and Aang settled. He wasn't going to let Aang feel any guilt or any fear about their relationship being revealed.

"You weren't the only one who knew." He heard his uncle say.

"Uncle? You knew about me and Aang?"

Iroh had a gentle smile on his face. "Of course I knew. The way you two are around each other, it was hard not to know. I have never seen you more relaxed around someone."

"Wait!!! How did everyone else figure this out and not me?" Sokka exlaimed. He looked baffled as he pointed at everyone, his eyes comically wide. "Uuuuggghhh!!!"

"You're not the only one who didn't know," Katara scolded him. She turned to him and Aang and frowned. "How did you two keep it a secret?"

"We haven't been together long," Aang told her. "It's only been a couple of weeks. Before that, which is when Toph figured it out, we had feelings for each other but we didn't know they were reciprocated."

Katara looked almost sad. "Why didn't you tell me?"

And that was the question he guessed his mother would be asking too. "I wasn't ready for everyone to know."

"Oh, you were ready alright," Toph told him. "You were just afraid you wouldn't use the right words so I helped you out." She reclined back in her seat and put her feet on the table. "No need to thank me. Think of it as community service."

"You should have waited until Zuko was ready." Aang told her.

"Alright, I'm sorry, jeez."

He waved his hand. "It's okay. Maybe you did do me a favour."

"Maybe?" she prodded.

"Toph..." Katara warned.

She threw her hands up in the air exclaiming that she gave up.

"Katara, Sokka, Suki, Ursa, I'm sorry you didn't hear it from one of us," Aang told them. "But we really were waiting for the right time. To be able to talk about it with both of us being one hundred percent comfortable with it."

Katara looked like she understood a little better. "I'm really happy for both of you."

Sokka agreed with her. "Yeah, I'm still shocked. I mean, it's Zuko and Aang! Zuko was trying to capture Aang not too long ago! Well, I guess it was a few years ago, but you get what I mean! It's not something I would have figured out on my own. But knowing the two of you now and thinking about it, yeah, you two make sense."

"Aang." His mother's voice cut through the air.

"Yes, Ursa?" Aang switched his whole focus to her, his hand still wrapped up in Zuko's.

Tears pooled in her eyes and she looked like she was trying her hardest not to cry, but the tears were visible to Zuko and it made his heart twist a little, wondering if those were happy or sad tears. "Thank you for making my boy so happy." She sounded choked up.

"You don't have to thank me for that." Aang sounded emotional too.

"Oh, I couldn't be happier for the two of you." She pulled them both into an awkward and somewhat painful, because of the table, hug. But Zuko didn't mind. He didn't mind at all, because his life was looking a little bit brighter than it had that morning. And with the weight of the truth lifted off his shoulders, he could finally let go and show those closest to him the person he was inside.


End file.
